Federal Court ruling on changes to bonus plan Under Swiss law, an employer needs their employees’ consent to change the terms of a bonus plan, unless the changes are entirely to the employees’ benefit. In a recent case, the Swiss Federal...

Recent legislation has amended the Labour Codes, most notably regarding fixed term employment, post-termination restrictions and parental leave.New rules on definite period (ie fixed term) employment contracts and other Labour Code amendments will c...

Minimum wage: Further relaxation of the documentation obligations Since the statutory minimum wage of EUR 8.50 per hour was introduced, the administrative obligations in respect of the minimum wage continue to frustrate employers. Companies wit...

New provisions relating to staff representatives OverviewFrom 17 August 2015 new provision, referred to as the “Rebsamen Law” (the “Law”), was introduced. It is aimed at modernising and strengthening relationships with staff ...

Government plans significant changes to labour legislation For some time the government and labour market organisations have been trying, without success, to agree on reforms to employment rights in Finland. Now, in an attempt to break the deadlock,...

Court expands discrimination lawThe CJEU has ruled that EU law covers indirect discrimination by association - a decision which expands the reach of discrimination law. It decided that an individual may claim indirect discrimination under the EU Rac...

Working after pensionable age – new legislation takes effect Over the coming years the Dutch pensionable age (currently 65) is set to increase gradually, in order to offset the costs associated with an ageing population. By 2021 the pension ag...

Changes to fixed term (definite term) employment contracts On 22 February 2016, an amendment to the Labour Code on definite period employment contracts will come into force. This amendment will introduce new rules allowing an employer to conclude no...

Swiss working time regulations simplified for higher ranked employees On 1 January 2016, new articles 73a and 73b of the Swiss Ordinance relating to the Labour Law Act (OLLA1) entered into force. Reflecting the reality of today’s work life, th...

Important EU data protection changes are a step nearerAfter years in the offing, the EU Parliament, Council and Commission representatives have reached political agreement on the drafting of the new EU data protection framework. Although minor modif...

Latest developments in temporary employment (agency or leased workers) In Germany, the provision of temporary personnel is strictly regulated by the German Law on Labour Leasing Act (AÜG). The principle is straightforward: the agency is the emp...

2016 – A new year and a new employment claims system in Ireland 2015 brought a number of changes to the Irish employment law landscape. The most significant change was the introduction of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 (the “Act”...

New legislation on occupational accidents and diseasesThe Act on occupational accidents and occupational diseases (459/2015) came into force on 1 January 2016. By combining the earlier three Acts on occupational accidents and diseases into one, the ...

Compulsory provision of health insurance by employers in FranceThe safeguarding of employees’ wellbeing is a key focus of French employment legislation. From biannual consultations with employees to evaluate the psychological impacts of their ...

On 12 February 2016, the Government gazetted the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2016 (the “Bill”). The Bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council for first and second readings on 2 March 2016 but it is not clear when it may come i...

A Boeing 777 carrying 56 tons of medical equipment from China landed in Madrid late on Saturday night, the regional government said.

Halfway through his 30-minute bike ride to work, police ordered Juan Pasamar to dismount, accusing him of breaking Spain’s coronavirus lockdown rules by exercising in public.

JOGGERS and cyclists across Spain emerged from their homes early on Saturday, with adults allowed out for exercise for the first time in seven weeks as the government began easing coronavirus restrictions.

POLICE used batons to beat back thirsty Indians jostling to buy alcohol for the first time in 40 days as the government eased further the world’s biggest novel coronavirus lockdown. The government credits

IRAN’S parliament has passed a bill allowing the government to slash four zeros from the rial, Iranian state media reported yesterday, after a sharp fall in the value of the currency as a result of crippling

JAPAN’S Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday extended a state of emergency over the coronavirus until the end of May, warning it was too soon to begin relaxing restrictions. Abe said a review of the situation

Italians strolled in the park, grabbed take-out cappuccinos and paid their respects to the astonishing number of dead as the European epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic gingerly woke up from the continent’s

FRENCH scientists say they may have identified a possible case of the new coronavirus dating back to December — about a month before the first cases were officially confirmed in Europe. In a study published

The White House coronavirus task force will wind down as the country moves into a second phase that focuses on the aftermath of the pandemic.

When Guy Nizan flew to Israel with his wife and daughter for a family emergency in March, Gula — their six-year-old German shepherd mix — stayed behind in New York with a pet sitter.

Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest investment bank in the US, filed for bankruptcy this morning.   If you have funds which have entered into OTC derivatives contracts with Lehmans under an ISDA Master Agreement you may be considering your posi...

FSA survey on AIFMD – aiming to provide support to AIFMs On 11 March 2013, the Financial Services Authority (“FSA”) published new web-pages on the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD”), including an o...

On 19 March, the Financial Services Authority published its much anticipated second consultation on AIFMD: “Implementation of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive” – CP 13/9. The FSA paper came hot on the heels of HM ...

On 25 March, HMRC published a briefing on the tax treatment of payments of trail commission which is rebated to investors in collective investment schemes and other investment products such as life insurance policies. The briefing relates to any reb...

In our previous briefing we reported on HMRC’s recent briefing on the tax treatment of payments of trail commission rebated to...

The European Commission (Commission), Parliament and the Council have now reached agreement on the texts for the Recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (...

The European Commission (Commission) has contacted the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and, more recently, the European Banking Authority...

In the same week that the Recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID 2) and its companion Regulation (MiFIR) were ...

Interview with Maris VainovskisBilances Juridiskie Padomi No.8 (14) August 2014Foreign capital is more and more active in acquisition of Latvian companies. Will there be any large local companies left in the future at all?There is such a tendency in...

Changes to The Child Trust Fund Regulations and ISA Regulations have been proposed. Both sets of amended regulations, which are currently in draft form, are expected to be finalised later this month and come into force on 6 April 2015. The changes ...

Morocco - New opportunities for investments of companies based in Morocco By Jawad Fassi-Fehri In Morocco, measures aiming to make Casa Finance City (CFC) a financial continental platform are progressing. After the announcement by the African Develo...

Updated AIFMD Q&As The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published an updated version of its Q&A paper on the application of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). This publication was released on...

The Luxembourg regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) has provided guidance on the meaning of marketing and reverse solicitation under AIFMD. This guidance is to be welcomed, as there is no European-wide guidance on th...

On 12 March 2018, the European Commission (the “Commission”) published legislative proposals for new rules on marketing AIFs and UCITS comprising: a Directive on the cross-border distribution of collective investment funds (COM(2018) 92...

On 7 August 2018, ESMA published a letter from Steven Maijoor, ESMA Chair, to Gabriel Bernardino, EIOPA Chair. The letter addressed the question of whether ESMA would consider borrowing arrangements and derivative arrangements entered into by an Alt...

The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (“SFC”) issued two circulars on 7 January 2020 providing guidance on its approach to licensing private equity (“PE”) firms and family offices to carry out regulated activitie...

  The path to establishing a UK management entity for an offshore fund branches off in all manner of directions. One of the first crossroads faced by the first-time manager is the choice of UK management vehicle. Their decision has significan...

Canary Wharf (BP4) T1 Ltd v European Medicines Agency   The impact of Brexit upon property disputes has not been wide ranging thus far.  However, a case which is set for trial in the early part of 2019 may alter that position and potential...

The Alexander Devine Children's Cancer Trust v Millgate Developments Ltd and others [2018] EWCA Civ 2679 The Court of Appeal has refused to allow a property developer to modify a set of restrictive covenants, reversing the decision of the Upper Trib...

Ashtead Plant Hire Company Limited v Granton Central Developments Limited [2019] CSOH 7 This case involves a landlord and tenant dispute over the proper construction of the rent review provisions in a lease of commercial premises.  The parties ...

Cine-UK Limited v Union Square Developments Ltd [2019] CSOH 3 A landlord and tenant couldn’t agree revised rent due in terms of a rent review. An expert surveyor was appointed to determine the issue in accordance with the provisions of the lea...

Robert James Oakley, Carolyn Oakley, Jonathan Mark Page, Union Pension Trustees Limited, Morgan Lloyd Trustees Limited v Harper McKay Developments Limited [2018] EWHC 3405 (Ch) The Court recently had to consider whether claimant sellers were entitle...